When I made the giveaway book for the 500th post, I was also making a sketchbook with toned paper for myself.

I decided to cover mine with itajime paper as I hadn’t done that before. I’ve used itajime on boxes, and you can see some on the first box I ever made, here. That box has been sealed with shellac whereas these have been sealed with matt varnish.

The Japanese paper I used to make this itajime is very robust, but still needs a sealant. I had hoped to use varnish and keep the white white, however somehow the grey board underneath showed through. As you see, it didn’t really show on the boxes and I’m not sure why. Maybe it was just more obvious because of the larger area. So if I wanted to make another one and keep the whites, I would cover the grey boards with white paper first. I used shellac to seal the covers and that gives it all a golden glow and gets rid of the grey.

The top photo is the right way up – how I plan to use the book, whereas the second photo the book is upside down. I decided before I cut the paper for the covers that I liked the way the design tailed away to a dot, and that would be the front. The solid stripes will be the back of the book, and that way I will always know the front.

8 responses to “My own book with toned paper”

It’s a beautiful book. I’ve never used toned paper but have noticed a lot of people making sketches in handmade books with different types of paper. It’s a nice way to add another dimension to a personal sketchbook.

I’ve just enjoyed reading back to your post about making boxes, Wendy. Very tempting. I still have a piece of your beautiful paper you gave me. Haven’t decided yet which project is worth of it.
Your mixed toned paper book is beautiful. You’ll have a lot of fun with your coloured inks in that.